Department for Transport

Diesel Vehicles: Pollution Control

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has plans to introduce a diesel vehicle scrappage scheme for people on low incomes.

Jesse Norman: On 22 November 2017 the Government launched a consultation on additional measures to support individuals and businesses affected by local NO2 plans. Options considered include retrofitting vehicles, support for car clubs, vehicle scrappage and improved public transport offers. The consultation closed on 5 January 2018 and the Government will publish a response in due course.

East Coast Rail Franchise: Incentives

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will obtain confirmation from Virgin and Stagecoach that none of the Directors working in the East Coast franchise have received or will receive bonuses.

Joseph Johnson: The remuneration of employees of Virgin Trains East Coast is a contractual matter for the business.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on vehicle owners of the ruling by the European Court of Justice of 13 July 2017 on third party insurance for vehicles.

Jesse Norman: The CJEU’s judgment of 13 July 2017 in case C-368/16 Assens Havn v Navigators Management (UK) Ltd, concerned an insurance policy covering liability relating to shipping. The Court decided that the provisions in Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, dealing with the validity of jurisdiction clauses in insurance contracts relating to shipping, must be interpreted as meaning that a victim entitled to bring a direct action against an insurer in his home jurisdiction is not bound by any agreement on jurisdiction concluded between the insurer and the insured. This judgment does not directly affect motor vehicle owners involved in a traffic accident. In the case of contracts for compulsory motor insurance, the rules (now set out in Regulation 1215/2012 which replaced Regulation 44/2001) restrict the ability of contracting parties to enter into jurisdiction clauses, and ensure that policy holders are protected. A direct right of action against the insurer by an injured party, exercisable in the injured party’s home jurisdiction under Regulation 1215/2012, is provided for by article 18 of the Motor Insurance Directive (Directive 2009/103/EC). The Lord Chancellor transposed this requirement into UK law through the European Communities (Rights Against Insurers) Regulations 2002.

Railways: Expenditure

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money his Department has spent on UK railways in each year since 2010.

Joseph Johnson: Net support to the rail industry in Great Britain by the Department for Transport (DfT) is shown in the table below. The figures represent the net contribution made by the Department and are offset against payments received from the industry, such as the overall premium paid by Train Operating Companies (TOCs). Department for Transport net support to the rail industry1 Year£million (nominal)2009-103,8872010-113,4012011-123,6712012-134,4032013-144,4122014-153,9962015-163,8552016-173,339  1 Excludes support from the Scottish and Welsh GovernmentsSource: DfT

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what modelling the Government has conducted on the potential effect on traffic on nearby roads of the removal of the Severn Bridge tolls.

Jesse Norman: Prior to the Severn Crossings consultation in 2017 the Government undertook modelling to assess the impact of the policy to continue tolling at a reduced rate, and on the possible option of free-flow tolling. The modelling used a version of the M4-CAN traffic model extended to take account of the impact of changes in tolls on both the South West of England and Wales and included estimates of wider economic impacts consistent with DfT Transport Appraisal Guidance. The Government announced on 21 July 2017 that it was removing tolls by the end of 2018. No further modelling was undertaken by the Department for Transport on this specific option.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place to cope with the potential increased traffic flow caused by the removal of the Severn Bridge toll.

Jesse Norman: Government is looking at the investment needs of the South West as part of the next round of the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS), as part of its commitment to improving journeys across the UK.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans for the Severn Bridge toll to be removed entirely.

Jesse Norman: The Government will abolish charging on the Severn bridges by the end of 2018.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the potential benefits of the removal of the Severn Bridge toll to the surrounding communities and businesses in (a) South Gloucestershire, and (b) the South West.

Jesse Norman: We do not have specific modelling results for South Gloucestershire or the South West for the wider economic benefits of removing the existing tolls.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to collect any excess funds from the continuation of the Severn Bridge toll in 2018 beyond that which is expected to be spent on the necessary infrastructure for its eventual removal.

Jesse Norman: There are a number of costs in addition to those incurred by the Government during the concession period, which include decommissioning and cessation of tolling, toll booth removal, highways realignment and specialist resurfacing work. Based on analysis of past traffic flow, the revenue to be received from a charging before abolition at the end of 2018 is predicted to be sufficient to cover such costs.

Public Transport: Yorkshire and the Humber

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) rail and (b) bus links in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Joseph Johnson: My Department is committed to improving both rail and bus links in Yorkshire and Humber. The Northern and TransPennine Express rail franchises will deliver more seats and more services with brand-new and refurbished-as-new trains, including the replacement of all Pacer trains by 2020. The multi-billion pound Great North Rail Project includes upgrades being delivered now to the Calder Valley Line between Manchester, Bradford and Leeds, as well as capacity investments at Bradford Mill Lane and an additional platform at Leeds Station. But we want to go further, and are planning to upgrade the key Transpennine route between Manchester, Leeds and York to give passengers faster and more reliable journeys. In the longer term, my Department remains committed to both High Speed 2 and to Northern Powerhouse Rail. The Department has provided Transport for the North with £60m to develop Northern Powerhouse Rail and committed £300m to ensure High Speed 2 can accommodate future Northern Powerhouse Rail services. For more local improvements, Local Enterprise Partnerships have been provided with devolved Local Growth funding, which can be spent on rail and bus improvements, such as the £9.6 million allocated for capacity improvements on the Harrogate to York rail line. The Government has also provided £173.5 million from the failed trolley bus scheme to support the Leeds Local Public Transport Improvement Programme, which will deliver a wide range of bus and rail improvements in Leeds, including plans for new rail stations at Thorpe Park, Millshaw and a parkway station for Leeds Bradford International Airport. The Transforming Cities Fund announced in the Autumn Budget has provided £840million to the six mayoral combined authorities and the remainder will be allocated by competition. This will provide further funding for public transport improvements in other English cities, and could include those in Yorkshire and the Humber. Guidance on how to bid into the competitive half of the fund will be published shortly. The Bus Services Act received Royal Assent in April 2017 and provides new powers to enable improvements to bus services. Regulations and guidance are now being published to allow for stronger partnership working; bus franchising powers for metro mayors; and better information on fares and routes for bus passengers.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy: Overseas Trade

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the ten largest global markets are for UK energy (a) exports and (b) imports.

Claire Perry: In 2016, the ten largest global markets for UK energy (that is volumes traded of: coal, primary oils and oil products, gas, electricity and renewables) were: RankEXPORTSIMPORTS1The NetherlandsNorway2BelgiumThe Netherlands3GermanyRussia4United StatesQatar5ChinaUnited States6Irish RepublicBelgium7FranceNigeria8South KoreaAlgeria9SpainSaudi Arabia10CanadaSweden Data sources: Data from Digest of UK Energy Statistics and HM Revenue and Customs.

Fireworks: Prosecutions

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many prosecutions there have been under the Fireworks Regulations 2004 in the last five years.

Andrew Griffiths: The Ministry of Justice has provided the following information: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for offences under the Fireworks Regulations 2004, from 2006 to 2016 (latest available data), can be viewed in the attached table. Court proceedings data for 2017 are planned for publication in May 2018.

Energy: Meters

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,  what assessment his Department has made of the effect on trends in switching of the implementation of the price cap for pre-payment meter energy customers; and if he will publish switching rates among these customers for each of the last twelve months for which figures are available.

Claire Perry: Ofgem’s safeguard tariff includes a degree of ‘headroom’, to allow suppliers to offer competitive deals beneath the level of the cap and incentivise switching. BEIS publish quarterly domestic energy switching statistics provided by Ofgem. The latest data published in December 2017 shows 1,284,000 electricity meters and 1,110,000 gas meters switched energy supplier in Q3 of 2017. We do not hold data that provides a breakdown of the number of switches by payment type.

Energy: Prices

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of its proposal for an energy price cap on levels of customer switching.

Claire Perry: As set out in the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill, Ofgem would be required to set the level of the price cap in a way such that, amongst other things, it would maintain incentives for switching and enable effective competition. The price cap would be lifted once the conditions for effective competition are in place in accordance with the process in draft clause 6.

Energy: Prices

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department plans to take to withdraw evergreen tariffs in the domestic energy market.

Claire Perry: The Government has published the draft Domestic Gas & Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill which would require Ofgem to impose a tariff cap on domestic standard variable and default tariffs with limited exemptions. This will ensure that customers on these tariffs do not pay unjustifiably high prices. A number of suppliers are working to reduce the number of their customers on these types of tariffs through better engagement.

Energy: Billing

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's most recent estimate is of the proportion of an average domestic energy bill which results from the cost of adherence to a Government policy; and if his Department will publish figures on such costs in each of the past ten years.

Claire Perry: BEIS published analysis of the impact of energy and climate change policies on average household energy bills in 2012 and 2016 as part of the Clean Growth Strategy on 12 October 2017. This information is presented in table 1.In summary, the cost of policies (including carbon costs) delivering cleaner energy, support for vulnerable households and investing in upgrading our buildings accounted for around 12% of an average household dual fuel bill in 2016. However, these costs were on average estimated to be more than offset by savings from improvements to the energy efficiency of people’s homes, delivering a net saving of £14 on average in 2016. Table 1: Average impact of energy and climate change policies on household dual fuel billsReal 2016 £Policy costs (as share of bill)Policy energy efficiency savingsNet impact of policies2012£126 (10%)-£128-£22016£147 (12%)-£161-£14 Source: Data from figure 11 of the Clean Growth Strategy https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/651916/BEIS_The_Clean_Growth_online_12.10.17.pdf.

Energy: Billing

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage energy suppliers to provide simpler bills for domestic customers.

Claire Perry: Ofgem, as the energy regulator, are responsible for deciding what information suppliers have to provide on energy bills. Too much detailed information on energy bills is not always an effective way to engage with consumers who can find this too complex or confusing. Ofgem are therefore introducing a principles based approach which allows bills to be simplified, with information made available elsewhere in a way which works for consumers. This approach recognises the different preferences consumers have for how they receive information, and balances protection for consumers with greater room for flexibility and innovation in the future. Ofgem are also conducting trials, the first of which concluded in autumn last year, to uncover what works in engaging consumers, without irritating them. These trials will be scaled up and rolled out nationally if successful.

Energy: Meters

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what allowance it made for the average cost to suppliers of installing a smart meter when setting the pre-payment meter price cap.

Claire Perry: Ofgem are responsible for setting the safeguard tariff (or ‘price cap’) for pre-payment meter customers. The methodology used for setting the level of the cap is based on calculations of wholesale costs, network costs, policy costs, operating costs, and costs specifically associated with prepayment meters. This includes the costs and benefits of smart metering.Further details are available on Ofgem’s website:https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/gas/retail-market/market-review-and-reform/implementation-cma-remedies/safeguard-tariff-or-price-cap.

Energy: Prices

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of an energy price cap on delivery of (a) switching rates and (b) other effects of the introduction of smart meters.

Claire Perry: Ofgem would set the level of the price cap in a way such that, amongst other things, it would maintain incentives for switching and enable effective competition. The draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill is clear that Ofgem must take into account an efficient supplier’s ability to finance its activities. This would include the rollout of smart meters, which is a requirement of their supply licence.

Energy: Prices

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons his Department's impact assessment for the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill does not include quantitative data on the effect of a price cap on (a) investment in the energy sector and (b) customers.

Claire Perry: As set out in the Impact Assessment for the draft Bill, the costs and benefits will depend on the detailed methodology the independent regulator Ofgem adopts to set the level of a tariff cap. The Government does not wish to pre-judge Ofgem’s work in establishing the methodology by including quantified analysis of the costs and benefits in the Impact Assessment.

Energy: Prices

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect of implementation of proposals in the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill on delivery of the (a) Energy Company Obligation and (b) Warm Homes Discount.

Claire Perry: Obligated energy suppliers will have to meet their targets under the Energy Company Obligation and Warm Home Discount regardless of the implementation of the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill.

Energy: Prices

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Competition and Markets Authority, (b) Ofgem and (c) energy suppliers on proposals regarding the right of energy companies to appeal in the draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill.

Claire Perry: BEIS Ministers and officials meet stakeholders to discuss a range of issues.The draft Bill would place a new duty on Ofgem to implement a cap on standard variable and default tariffs, and energy companies would be able to challenge Ofgem’s decision on the setting of the cap by way of judicial review. The Government believes that a Court is capable of considering these matters.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Diplomatic Service: Religious Freedom

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make Religious and Freedom of Religion or Belief Literacy training compulsory for diplomats serving in countries where violations are most prevalent.

Mark Field: A specific course in Religion and Diplomacy is available to FCO staff designated to take up roles where an understanding of religion is key to their work. We will keep attendance at the course under review, but so far we do not see a need to make this training mandatory.The FCO also runs seminars on specific themes. For example, Bishop Jonathan Goodall spoke to the FCO about Orthodox Christianity and foreign policy.

Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy: Religious Freedom

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what positive outcomes for freedom of religion or belief were achieved from Magna Carta Fund funding in 2016-17.

Mark Field: There have been a number of positive outcomes for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) from projects supported through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy in financial year 2016-17. These include:A project delivered by the Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) Hardwired Inc has promoted tolerance in secondary school curricula in 50 schools in Iraq, Morocco and Lebanon. The Kurdish Regional Government has also asked for it to be shared with all children in their region.The NGO Christian Solidarity Worldwide is running a project to support human rights defenders in a number countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This project is raising awareness at the national, regional and international level of the unique challenges human rights defenders campaigning for FoRB face in South and Central Asia. The project is advocating for better protection for them by state authorities.A project run by the Salzburg Global Seminar is increasing the capacity of institutions with educational missions in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East to combat extremism, prevent genocide and promote tolerance. There is particular emphasis on Rwanda, South Africa and Cambodia.The Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy was also used to support projects to promote FoRB and tolerance in Burma, Tunisia, Egypt, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. These projects have strengthened civil society actors in those countries.A project carried out by Cumberland Lodge has promoted greater understanding of FoRB issues and challenges amongst overseas students in the UK. This is sensitising them to these matters before their returning to their native countries where it is hoped they will act as informal advocates for human rights, including FoRB.

Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy: Religious Freedom

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what projects in which countries were funded from his Department's Magna Carta Fund to support freedom of religion and belief in 2016-17.

Mark Field: Her Majesty's Government places great importance on defending and promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief. The Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy is one of the tools we use to achieve this goal. In 2016-17 we funded the following projects that supported freedom of religion or belief:Creating Advocates for Freedom of Religion or Belief in developing countries (including, India and Indonesia)Defending Freedom of Religion or Belief in South And Central Asia (including in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan).Upholding Freedom Of Expression and Promoting Stable Pluralistic Societies In the MENA region (including Egypt).Promoting Social Stability and Security through Advancing Freedom of Religion or Belief in Central Asia (Tajikistan & Turkmenistan)Due to sensitivities, we are unable to disclose details of all our projects to support freedom of religion or belief.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department plans to spend on projects relating to the UK leaving the EU in the next five years; and if he will list the projects to which that funding has been assigned.

Sir Alan Duncan: Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT) has already allocated departments an additional nearly £700 million to prepare for Brexit: £412m for the Department for International Trade, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Department for Exiting the European Union over the parliament in the Autumn Statement 2016 and nearly £300m across a number of departments from the Reserve in 17/18.At Autumn Budget 2017 HMT made another £3bn additional funding available over 18/19 and 19/20 – £1.5bn in each year. We are currently working with HMT to determine our allocation for 18/19 and aim to agree this soon.

Eastern Europe: Overseas Aid

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what projects the Good Governance Fund has supported since its inception; and what projects it will fund in the 2017 - 22 Parliament.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​Since its inception in 2015, the Good Governance Fund (GGF) has supported around 250 projects in the five GGF recipient countries (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Bosnia and Serbia). These projects have all been in line with UK National Security Council (NSC) priorities for the countries concerned and have focussed on reform to business environment, governance, anti-corruption and judicial reform and media freedom.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the delivery of commitments made by the Government of Sri Lanka under UN Human Rights Council Resolution 34/1.

Mark Field: The UK is closely monitoring delivery of the commitments made by the Government of Sri Lanka under UN Human Rights Council Resolution 34/1, in collaboration with the UN, international partners, Government of Sri Lanka and civil society. I raised commitments most recently with Foreign Minister Marapana by telephone on 8 February.During my visit to Colombo and Jaffna in October 2017 I also discussed the importance of the Sri Lankan government meeting its obligations in full under UN Human Rights Council Resolution 34/1, which rolled over the commitments made under 30/1. Among these were establishing transitional justice mechanisms, including a credible accountability process for those most responsible for violations and abuses during Sri Lanka's civil war and the return of military held civilian land, particularly in the predominantly Tamil north and east.The UK continues to support the Government of Sri Lanka in its efforts to promote reconciliation and human rights. The UK is also providing Sri Lanka with £6.6 million of Conflict, Stability and Security Fund funding over three years, to include support for police reform and training, reconciliation and peace building, and demining in the north of the country.

Israel: Technology

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to strengthen trade cooperation with Israel in the high tech sector.

Alistair Burt: The UK is a close friend of Israel and we enjoy an excellent bilateral relationship, built on decades of cooperation between our two countries across a range of fields such as education, hi-tech research, business, arts and culture. Trade between our countries is at record levels. The British Government helped to establish the UK-Israel Tech Hub, a non-profit organisation based in Tel Aviv and London, to help British companies looking for cutting-edge innovation or Israeli start-ups seeking to grow through the UK. Over the last 5 years the Tech Hub has generated deals worth £62 million.

Anguilla: Companies

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2017 to Question 115638 on Anguilla: Companies, what the timetable is for Anguilla’s register of beneficial ownership to be published; and what support the Government is providing to assist Anguilla in publishing that register.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​As set out in my response to PQ 115638, we have committed to provide financial support to Anguilla to create an electronic search platform providing access to beneficial ownership information, as well as support in drafting underpinning legislation. The process for establishing a beneficial ownership system has been delayed by the impact of and need to recover from Hurricane Irma. The Government of Anguilla has now produced a draft beneficial ownership bill which is currently being revised to take into account stakeholder comments. We expect Anguilla's beneficial ownership platform to be in place by Autumn 2018. In the interim, Anguilla will continue to respond to any requests for information from UK law enforcement authorities.

Russia: Nuclear Weapons

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of claims by the President of Lithuania that Russia has the nuclear-capable Iskander missile system permanently deployed in its exclave of Kaliningrad.

Sir Alan Duncan: We are aware of the claims made by the President of Lithuania regarding Russian deployments to Kaliningrad. We are unable to confirm these claims but we remain concerned at Russia's ongoing military modernisation in Kaliningrad which risks raising tensions.NATO's posture will remain proportionate and defensive in nature. We will continue to encourage Russia to engage constructively on military issues of concern through NATO-Russia dialogue. It is in our mutual interest to reduce the risk of misunderstanding, miscalculation, and unintended escalation.

Israel: Gaza

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the Middle East Peace Process of renewed rocket firings from Gaza into Israel.

Alistair Burt: ​We are gravely concerned by the increase in rocket fire since December 2017. Rocket attacks threaten the daily lives of Israelis indiscriminately and make achieving peace more difficult. We call on all parties to refrain from violence and to commit to a negotiated solution to end the conflict.

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment the Government has made of the effect on stability in the Middle East of Iran's ballistic missile programme.

Alistair Burt: We have significant concerns about Iran's ballistic missile programme, which contributes to its destabilising role in the region. Iran has conducted ballistic missile activity which is inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2231. We have raised our concerns with the Iranian Government, including during the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Tehran in December. We also continue to work with the relevant UN bodies to support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions, and we urge all partners to report concerns about Iran’s ballistic missile programme to the UN Security Council.

Osman Kavala

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will take steps to seek the release of Osman Kavala from prison in Turkey.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not taken action directly relating to Osman Kavala's case. We regularly raise human rights concerns both in public and privately and have long encouraged Turkey to work towards the full protection of human rights, particularly on freedom of expression. Whilst we have recognised the Turkish government's right to act against the perpetrators of the coup attempt in 2016 and those involved in terrorism, we have always stressed that this must be done in a proportionate, justified manner and in line with Turkey's democratic principles and international human rights obligations. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and I have all raised these concerns with the Turkish government.

Department for Education

Sex and Relationship Education

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will include child early forced marriage and female genital mutilation in his Department's review of relationship and sex education.

Nick Gibb: The Department is conducting a comprehensive engagement exercise to determine the scope and design of relationships education, relationships and sex education and personal, social, health and economic education, with a broad spectrum of stakeholders. This has included meeting with organisations with expertise in forced marriage and female genital mutilation, including Forward and the End Violence Against Women Coalition.The outcome of this engagement and online call for evidence will determine the development of regulations and statutory guidance for the new subjects.

Department for Education: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department plans to spend on projects relating to the UK leaving the EU in the next five years; and if he will list the projects to which that funding has been assigned.

Anne Milton: At Autumn Budget 2017 HM Treasury made £3 billion of additional funding available across government over 2018/19 and 2019/20 – £1.5 billion in each year. The Department for Education are currently working with HM Treasury to assess if the department requires additional funding for 2018/19 and aim to agree this soon. HM Treasury has already allocated departments nearly £700 million to prepare for Brexit – £412 million for the Department for International Trade, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Exiting the European Union over the parliamentary session at Autumn Statement 2016 and nearly £300 million across a number of other departments from the reserve in 2017/18. Departmental allocations for 2019/20 will be agreed later on in the new financial year and decisions on funding in 2020/21 and beyond will be decided at the next spending review. This is because requirements in these years will be heavily affected by what is agreed in our negotiations with the EU.

Higher Education: Strikes

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration he has given to refund tuition fees to students whose lectures are cancelled as a result of strike action by lecturers.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions. Responsibility for handling student complaints, in the first instance, is a matter for the relevant HE provider. In addition, HE providers have responsibilities under consumer law, and the obligation for meeting these lies with the individual HE providers. The Competition and Markets Authority has produced guidance for providers on how they can meet their responsibilities under consumer law. This includes ensuring students are provided with clear and transparent terms and conditions and providers have accessible, clear and fair complaints procedures.

Physical Education: Teachers

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of teachers specialising in physical education.

Nick Gibb: The latest available information shows that, as at November 2016, there were 23,500 teachers of physical education in state funded secondary schools. Of these 88.5% had a relevant post A level qualification. Equivalent information is not available for primary schools.The source of this information is the School Workforce Census which is an annual survey collected in November each year. The information above is published in Table 12 of the statistical release, School Workforce in England, which is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2016.

Literacy: Disadvantaged

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to raise literacy standards amongst children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Nick Gibb: This Government has made improving literacy standard a priority, and has reformed the national curriculum with a stronger focus on phonics teaching to ensure that pupils are given the best start with their reading. The introduction of the pupil premium provides schools with additional money to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities. Since its introduction in 2011, the difference in the relative attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their peers has reduced in both primary and secondary phases.The 2016 Progress in International Reading Study showed that nine year olds in England had achieved their highest ever scores in reading. The improvement is mainly due to the narrowing of the gap for lower attaining pupils and to a significant improvement in boys’ performance.The development of a new Centre of Excellence for Literacy Teaching and a national network of 35 English hubs across the country will support more children from disadvantaged backgrounds master the basics of reading in primary school.

Further Education: Social Mobility

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage further education providers to promote social mobility.

Anne Milton: The department’s plan for improving social mobility through education, ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’, was published in December 2017. For further education, the key actions were the creation of high quality technical education through the introduction of T Levels; measures to drive up the quality of apprenticeships; investment in the sector through initiatives, including the £15 million Strategic College Improvement Fund; and the new £170 million Institutes for Technology.These measures will particularly benefit students from disadvantaged backgrounds, by making sure they are able to gain the skills that are in demand from employers. Further information, along with details of other related measures, can be found in the plan which is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-social-mobility-through-education.

Schools: Finance

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the average yearly expenditure (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: YearPrimary expenditureSecondary expenditure2011£1,005,000£5,273,0002012£1,041,000£5,151,0002013£1,098,000£5,400,0002014£1,166,000£5,562,0002015£1,246,000£5,499,0002016£1,320,000£5,557,000 The 2011 and 2012 data only include local authority (LA) maintained schools, all other years combine academies and LA maintained schools. As these figures are at school level they are sensitive to changes in average school size.

Pupils: Eating Disorders

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that information and support is provided on eating disorders for pupils in secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: To support schools the Government funds the PSHE Association to provide guidance to schools on how to teach pupils in all four key stages about mental health. The guidance includes age appropriate advice on teaching about eating disorders in secondary school.The Government made a manifesto commitment that all pupils should learn about mental wellbeing and the mental health risks of the internet. The Department is currently conducting a thorough engagement process on the scope and content of Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education, and on the future status of Personal Social, Health and Economic Education. Decisions on further action to deliver the commitment will be made in the light of the outcome of the engagement process.The Government has also funded information for school staff. MindEd is a free online portal that provides training for all adults working with children and young people about specific mental health problems. It includes specific information on eating disorders.To improve access to specialist support for eating disorders, the Government has made available an additional £1.4 billion for children and young people’s mental health services. This includes £150 million specifically targeted at improving support for young people with eating disorders. The Government is also consulting on the green paper Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision. It includes proposals for mental health support teams to provide more trained support for young people with mental health issues and to improve access to specialist support where it is needed.

Pupils: Sanitary Protection

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure all school students have access to sanitary products.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to reduce period poverty among 14 to 21 year olds.

Nadhim Zahawi: No girl should be held back from reaching her potential because of her background or gender; this is why our current Sex and Relationships Education guidance encourages schools to make adequate and sensitive arrangements to help girls cope with menstruation. Schools are best placed to identify and address the needs of their pupils, and have discretion over how they use their funding and can make sanitary products available to disadvantaged pupils if they identify this as a barrier to attainment or attendance. We support schools in addressing the needs of disadvantaged pupils through the provision of the Pupil Premium, equivalent to almost £2.5 billion of additional funding this year alone. For students over 16, the 16-19 Bursary Fund can be used to support students from vulnerable groups and those who may face financial hardship to participate in education.As a government, we are helping millions of families meet the everyday cost of living and keep more of what they earn. We are helping more people provide for themselves – with 3 million more people in work compared to 2010. We have introduced the National Living Wage, doubled free childcare to help support parents with the cost of bringing up children and cut income tax, leaving a basic rate taxpayer over £1,000 better off every year than in 2010. We also continue to spend around £90 billion a year supporting people including those who are out of work or on a low income. We strongly support cutting VAT to zero on sanitary products and that is why the Finance Act 2016 included legislation to make this happen. However, we cannot do this under current EU law, so we are charging five per cent VAT – the lowest possible rate. We’re awarding £15 million a year to women’s charities through the Tampon Tax Fund – equivalent to the amount of VAT raised from the sale of women’s sanitary products. In the current round of Tampon Tax Funding, we have identified period poverty as a sub-theme in the general programme and have welcomed applications which address this issue.

Arts: Education

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to increase funding for arts in schools.

Nick Gibb: In addition to general funding schools receive to deliver the curriculum, the Government specifically funds music education hubs and other arts-related programmes to ensure that every child has access to a high quality arts education.The Government announced almost £400 million of funding in the period 2016-20 for a diverse portfolio of music and arts education programmes to improve access to the arts for all children, regardless of their background, and to develop talent across the country. This includes £300 million for music education hubs in 2016-20, £58 million in 2016-18 for the Music and Dance Scheme, which allows exceptionally talented children to attend specialist music and dance institutions, and more than £8 million in 2016-18 for cultural education programmes including Saturday Art and Design Clubs, the National Youth Dance Company and the BFI’s Film Academy programme.

Universities: Mental Health Services

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department provides to universities on the provision of mental health services.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The department is working closely with Universities UK (UUK) on the ongoing programme of work on mental health in higher education. UUK has worked in partnership with the Institute for Public Policy Research to strengthen the evidence base on mental health in higher education and launched their Step Change programme on 4 September 2017. The Step Change framework offers detailed guidance to higher education institutions (HEIs), including a strategy checklist for university leaders(http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/stepchange/Pages/checklist.aspx). The Children and Young People’s Mental Health green paper, open for consultation until 2 March 2018, outlines government’s plans to set up a new national strategic partnership focused on improving the mental health of 16-25 year olds – encouraging more coordinated action, experimentation and robust evaluation of mental health services. As autonomous and independent organisations, it is for HEIs to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students. Each institution will be best placed to identify the needs of their particular student body, including taking actions in line with any legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.

Adult Education: Public Expenditure

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the underspend against his Department's adult education budget in the academic year 2016-17.

Anne Milton: The underspend against the mainstream participation element of the Adult Education Budget for the 2016 to 2017 academic year was £63 million. This was less than 5 per cent of the total contracted value. A portion of the underspend was reallocated within the further education sector, providing the opportunity for providers to expand provision through growth bids, funding over delivery in providers who exceeded their delivery aims, and support other provision. This excludes growth deals and other funding support because these programmes are managed on a financial year basis.

Free Schools: Greater Manchester

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times the Regional Schools Commissioner or her staff visited (a) Collective Spirit Free School in Oldham and (b) the Manchester Creative Studio in each year that those schools were in operation.

Nadhim Zahawi: I refer the hon. member for Central Manchester to the answer I gave on 7 February 2018 to Question 126340: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-02-02/126340/.

Ministry of Justice

Juries

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department provides to people selected for jury service to ensure that they  understand their duties as jurors.

Lucy Frazer: There is a range of guidance material available to jurors. Upon confirming their jury service, jurors are sent an information pack, which, alongside practical information, includes a booklet called, ‘Your Guide to Jury Service’ which sets out what happens during jury service and what is expected of a juror. This booklet is also available online. All jurors are shown a short film entitled, ‘Your Role as a Juror’ on their first day of jury service which explains what they should expect and what their role is. This is also available online. Once summoned, a juror can contact the Jury Central Summoning Bureau if they are unsure of any aspect of their jury service, or once at court can speak to court staff. Further information and guidance for jurors can also be found on the gov.uk website. The Lord Chief Justice has recently introduced a new notice to be handed to jurors when they are sworn in which details their legal responsibilities and the possible penalties of failing to adhere to them. The new notice is being rolled out on a staged basis across all Crown Court centres with a view to completion in 2018-19.

Employment Tribunals Service: Fees and Charges

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2017 to Question 118773, on Employment Tribunals Service: Fees and Charges, what progress his Department is making on its consideration of the Supreme Court's ruling on 26 July 2017.

Lucy Frazer: The Government is continuing to consider the judgment carefully. It is important to take the time to consider the full implications of this ruling, both for the re-introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunals, and for our wider courts and tribunals fees strategy.

Ministry of Justice: Contracts

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many contracts worth more than £1 million his Department signed in each year since 2010; with which companies such contracts have been signed; for what purpose those contracts were signed; what the (a) annual and (b) total cost of each such contract is; to which geographic areas the delivery of those contracts relates; and what the length of each such contact is.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has awarded 785 contracts with a value of £1 million or more since 2010, as detailed within the attached table. All contracts are awarded as per EU Public Contract Regulations following comprehensive processes as required. We have robust measures in place to monitor the performance of our contracts.



PQ126792 - Contracts
(Excel SpreadSheet, 94.87 KB)

Ministry of Justice: Consultants

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what contracts for consultancy services (a) his Department and (b) his Department's arms length bodies have agreed in each year since 2010; and for each such contract (i) what the value of that contract is, (ii) who the signatories to that contract are, (iii) what the performance measures relating to that contract are, (iv) to which geographic areas the delivery of those contracts relates, (v) what the term of that contract is and (vi) how many people are employed by those contract providers to deliver those contracts.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost due to this information not being centrally held.

Immigration: Appeals

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of appeals heard in the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in each year since its inception.

Lucy Frazer: The First Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) was created during the 2010-11 financial year. The costs recorded include the Upper Tier Tribunal. Full cost data for both the First and Upper Tier Tribunal has only been reported since 2012.Year£m2012-1394.12013-14101.12014-15102.82015-1694.92016-17105.5

Ministry of Justice: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department plans to spend on projects relating to the UK leaving the EU in the next five years; and if he will list the projects to which that funding has been assigned.

Lucy Frazer: HM Treasury has already allocated departments nearly £700 million to prepare for Brexit. At Autumn Budget 2017 HM Treasury made another £3bn of additional funding available over 18/19 and 19/20 – £1.5bn in each year. We are currently working with HM Treasury to determine our allocation for 18/19 with the aim to agree this soon.Departmental allocations for 19/20 will be agreed later on in the year and decisions on funding in 20/21 and beyond will be decided at the next Spending Review. This is because requirements in these years will be heavily affected by what is agreed in our negotiations with the EU.

Domestic Violence

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assistance his Department provides for women engaged with the criminal justice system as a result of domestic abuse.

Lucy Frazer: We recognise that female offenders often have complex circumstances, including backgrounds of domestic abuse, and we are committed to addressing their needs. We are developing a strategy to improve outcomes for female offenders in the community and in custody. We are taking steps to provide assistance for women engaged with the criminal justice system who have experienced domestic abuse. This includes a confidential 24-hour helpline, run by Refuge and Women’s Aid, which is available in all women’s prisons and provides practical and emotional support and advice. We have also invested £1m between 2016 and 2020 to support local areas to develop holistic, multi-agency approaches which aim to address the complex needs of female offenders and women at risk of offending, including those who have suffered domestic abuse. We are committed to publishing a draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill. This will be accompanied by a programme of non-legislative work, and an additional £20m of funding to support victims of domestic abuse. Our aim is that all victims and survivors of domestic abuse will benefit from measures brought forward following consultation, including women engaged with the criminal justice system.

Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many outstanding (a) preventative and (b) reactive maintenance actions on the prisons estates (i) at each location and (ii) under each facilities management contract there were on 1 January 2018.

Lucy Frazer: The table attached provides the number of outstanding reactive and planned maintenance tasks, as logged in our management system on 1 January 2018, at each Prison in England and Wales for Mitie, Carillion and Amey. Typically, some 95,000 maintenance tasks are completed each month; around 90 to 95% of all tasks raised. Some of these tasks cannot be completed in the month for a variety of reasons which can lead to duplication of a task. The figures provided include these duplicate tasks, which account for part of the apparent 'backlog'. Our current priority is to stabilise and improve service delivery, with an improved focus on cleanliness and decency. We have created of a new government-owned facilities management company that has taken over the delivery of the prison Facilities Management services previously provided by Carillion.



Table for PQ126904
(Excel SpreadSheet, 17.49 KB)

Courts: Video Conferencing

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many defendants aged between 10 and 17 year's old have appeared in court via live video link in each year since 2010; and how many of those video link appearances were for (a) case management, (b) remand hearings and (c) sentencing in each of those years.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many child defendants with (a) speech and language difficulties (b) cognitive difficulties and (c) other vulnerabilities have been produced in court by video link in each year since 2010.

Lucy Frazer: While data on usage of video link is collected centrally by HM Courts & Tribunals Service, we are not able to break down this data by age, court appearance type or to identify any specific needs of the child defendant. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examining individual case records.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many young offenders institutions and secure training centres in England and Wales have live link facilities to allow children to take part in court proceedings over video from their custodial setting.

Lucy Frazer: All under 18 Young Offender Institutions (Cookham Wood, Feltham, Wetherby, Werrington and Parc) have Prison Court Video Link facilities. These facilities are not available in the three Secure Training Centres at Medway, Oakhill and Rainsbrook.

Sexual Offences: Rehabilitation

Victoria Prentis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much it has cost his Department to deliver the (a) Core Sex Offender Treatment and (b) Extended Sex Offender Treatment programme in the last 12 months; and how many people have participated with what outcomes in each such programme in the last 12 months.

Lucy Frazer: We are absolutely committed to reducing reoffending and addressing the needs of those individuals convicted of a sexual offence. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) does not record expenditure in its central accounting system in a format that allows for the identification of spend on Sex Offender Treatment Programmes and therefore, cannot provide cost data for the period requested. The NOMS Annual Digest 2016/17 provides information on volumes of sex offender programmes delivered in 2016/17. This is included in the table below. In April 2017 the final core and extended SOTP programmes completed and we stopped the programme and introduced new programmes. No offenders took part in the programme after April 2017. The new programmes are Horizon (Moderate Intensity) and Kaizen SO (High Intensity), which we have introduced for men convicted of sexual offending. These programmes draw on the latest international evidence on effective treatment for this cohort of offenders. Table: Accredited Sexual Offending Programme Starts and Completions in Prison, England & Wales 2016/17StartsCompletions   Core Programme527594Extended Programme133128   All Sexual Offending Programmes1,173 1,171It should be noted that some of those completing a programme in 2016/17 will have started it in the preceding year, and some starting in 2016/17 will complete in the subsequent year.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of appearing in court via live video link on a child defendant's (a) ability to participate effectively in court proceedings, (b) propensity to plead guilty or not guilty, (c) likelihood of being granted bail and (d) severity of sentence after conviction.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of a child defendant appearing in court via live video link on the ability of youth offending teams to fulfil (a) duty to conduct post-hearing safeguarding checks with the child and (b) their other statutory duties.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that parents and carers are informed when a child defendant appears in court by video link; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure parents and carers attend the court hearing.

Lucy Frazer: HM Courts & Tribunals Service is committed to ensuring that children and young people who go to court understand what is happening, take part in the process and receive the appropriate support, including agreed adjustments. Criminal Practice Directions are in place and give guidance to the courts and users about how to effectively and appropriately make use of live links and telephone facilities. This includes guidance on how and when live links should be used for hearings and provides specific guidance for defendants aged under 18. The court will deal with any application for use of a video link on a case‐by‐case basis, after consultation with the parties, including parents and carers and the Youth Offending Team. The Ministry of Justice has not conducted an assessment of outcomes of hearings depending on whether video was used. Outcomes of hearings are a matter for the judiciary. HMCTS keeps parents and carers informed of hearing dates and times. The Ministry of Justice has not conducted an assessment of Youth Offending Teams’ ability to fulfil their statutory duties depending on whether a video link was used, but any decision to use a video link would be taken following consultation with the Youth Offending Team.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Victoria Prentis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of (a) the cost, (b) the availability, (c) the size of waiting lists for and (d) the average length of wait to participate in the new offender behaviour programmes Horizon and Kaizen.

Lucy Frazer: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) does not record expenditure in its central accounting system in a format that allows for the identification of expenditure on Horizon and Kaizen and, therefore, cannot provide the cost data requested. These programmes are delivered by in-house staff, and staffing costs are not captured separately for such specific activities. Horizon has been rolled out steadily since it was commissioned in 2016/17, and an assessment of its delivery, and demand for places on it, including any resulting waiting lists, is currently being undertaken. Whilst there are not any significant waiting lists for Kaizen at present, HMPPS will continue to assess its delivery and demand as we roll-up provision during 2018/19. We keep offending behaviour programmes under constant review, to ensure that they are effective in reducing reoffending and protect the public. The recently introduced Horizon and Kaizen programmes for sex offenders draw on the latest international evidence on effective treatment for this cohort of offenders.

Judgements: Appeals

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse has been of the Government's appeals which were heard in the case of R (on the application of P and Others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 321; and what the cost to the public purse has been of the Government's decision to appeal that judgment.

Lucy Frazer: Costs recorded by the Government Legal Department to date, on behalf of the Secretaries of State for Justice and the Home Department, in the appeals from the High Court judgments in the cases of P and others, amount to £94,334.00. It should be noted that these figures may include some work relating to the High Court’s consideration of the cases, and similarly there may be early work carried out relating to the appeals which is not captured in this figure. This figure does not include costs of other parties which may be borne by the Government (the Secretary of State for Justice is committed to pay one of the parties’ capped reasonable costs of appeal).

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the budget of the Criminal Cases Review Commission was in each year since 2010; and what the budget of that organisation is for 2017-18.

Lucy Frazer: The annual resource budget (including depreciation) allocated - for the years 2010/11 to date - by the Ministry of Justice to the Criminal Cases Review Commission is set out in the table below:YearTotal Resource Allocation 2010-11£5.762m2011-12£5.342m2012-13£5.347m2013-14£5.419m2014-15£5.488m2015-16£5.317m2016-17£5.388m2017-18£5.394m

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications the Criminal Cases Review Commission has received in each year since 2010.

Lucy Frazer: The number of applications received by the Criminal Cases Review Commission in each year (1st April-31st March) since 2010 is set out in the table below:YearApplications received2010-119332011-121,0402012-131,6252013-141,4702014-151,5992015-161,4802016-171,397April 2017 – Dec 20171,073

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications the Criminal Cases Review Commission has received that subsequently succeeded on appeal since its creation.

Lucy Frazer: Since its creation in 1997, the Criminal Cases Review Commission have received 422 applications that have succeeded on appeal.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to reconcile the data tables published in (a)  net additional dwellings and (b) housebuilding; new build dwellings.

Jake Berry: The Department has recently undertaken a programme of work that (a) confirmed the accuracy and coverage of the annual housing supply; net additional dwellings estimate against other similar statistics and (b) explored the coverage of the quarterly house-building release.The programme involved detailed discussions with a range of organisations, including the official producers of housing statistics in the other UK countries, the devolved administrations and with the Office for Statistics Regulation.Officials in the Department have met the National House-Building Council and the associations representing approved inspectors and local authorities, to promote comprehensive data collection and plan to publish strengthened guidance and definitions.We have implemented a new data collection system to make it faster and easier for building control starts and completions to be submitted. We will report progress on further improving the coverage of the quarterly data in the statistical release.

Ministry of Defence

China: Ballistic Missile Defence

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the announcement by China's Ministry of National Defence that it successfully tested a land-based mid-course missile interception system on 5 February 2018.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to monitor and make assessments on these and other foreign missile capabilities that could pose a threat to UK interests both now and in the future. For reasons of safeguarding national security we do not comment on specific assessments.

Reserve Forces: Scotland

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a list of all UK Armed Forces reserve units based in Scotland.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: A list containing the main Royal Navy/Royal Marines and Royal Air Force Armed Forces Reserve units based in Scotland is provided below.  Reserve UnitLocationRoyal NavyHMS SCOTIAMOD Caledonia, Rosyth, Dundee, Fife HMS DALRIADAGovern, GlasgowRoyal MarineRMR Scotland HQMOD Caledonia, Rosyth, Govern, Glasgow (collocated with RNR Unit), Dundee, Fife, AberdeenRoyal Air Force2622 Squadron (Highland)RAF Lossiemouth, Lossiemouth 612 Squadron (County of Aberdeen)Leuchars, St Andrews 603 Squadron (City of Edinburgh)Learmonth Terrace, Edinburgh 602 Squadron (City of Glasgow)Kings Park, Glasgow For a list of the Army Reserve units based in Scotland I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Defence, Earl Howe, to the noble Lord, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, in the House of Lords on 26 July 2017 to question HL866. http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2017-07-17/HL866/



HL866 - Army Units in Scotland
(Word Document, 22.49 KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Independent Assessment Services: Complaints

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what timetable he expects stage 2 complaints relating to the Independent Assessment Service to be concluded.

Sarah Newton: In November 2010 new arrangements were agreed for dealing with complaints about the service provided to DWP claimants, by third party providers. The new arrangements, which initially applied to all customer-related contracts let on or after 1 April 2011, require assessment providers to have their own complaint process in place, which signposts complainants to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) in the event that they are dissatisfied with the providers final response to their complaint. The Department expects the PIP Assessment Providers to acknowledge in writing all complaints received directly from claimants within two working days, advising that a full response will be provided within 20 working days.

Employment and Support Allowance: Correspondence

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will instruct her officials to copy employment and support allowance claimants into all correspondence that they address to those claimants' doctors.

Sarah Newton: To send claimants a copy of all correspondence would incur unnecessary duplication. When making a claim, customers give their consent for the Department to contact their doctor or other healthcare professionals for further medical information if required and to inform them of the outcome of their assessment. To send claimants a copy of these would incur unnecessary duplication. The Department is continually reviewing and amending claimant communications, in consultation with support organisations and the assessment provider, to ensure they are clear and informative and meet claimants’ needs

Employment and Support Allowance: Correspondence

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has written to the doctors of claimants who have been refused employment and support allowance to advise those doctors that they should stop supplying claimants with fit notes and encourage them to return to work.

Sarah Newton: We send doctors a letter called an ESA65B, after a customer has been found fit for work, stating that they no longer need to provide further notes for the purposes of Employment and Support Allowance. This letter also states what support customers can expect to receive from their local Jobcentre and asks doctors to encourage customers in their efforts to return to work.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Tree Planting

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the Department did not meet the target to plant 11 million trees by 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: There was no target to plant 11 million trees by 2015. The 2010 Conservative manifesto said “in addition to ongoing woodland creation, we will launch a national tree planting campaign, planting up to one million new trees in the next Parliament.” In the years from 2010-2015, it is estimated that through CAP funds, approximately 11 million trees were planted. The 2015 and 2017 manifestos both committed to planting 11 million trees over the course of the expected five-year parliaments to which the manifestos related.

Heathrow Airport: Inland Waterways

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of proposals to expand Heathrow airport on the (a) environmental and (b) financial cost to operators and owners of waterways and canals in the areas surrounding Heathrow.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency (EA) has not yet made a detailed assessment of the effect of proposals to expand Heathrow Airport. Heathrow Airport Ltd (HAL) is currently working on its detailed proposal and once this is submitted the EA will assess it. The EA will be responding to the first phase of HAL’s public consultation which was launched on 17 January 2018. The EA will not be able to assess the detailed proposals until HAL submit their application for a Development Consent Order, which they expect to do by the end of 2019.

Home Office

Nuisance Calls

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the police response to reports of an 0800 number making repeated threatening phone calls.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government takes the issue of malicious or threatening calls very seriously. Individuals who receive such calls are advised to report it to their phone provider.If such calls are reported to the police it is for chief constables to decide how best to deploy resources to respond to the matter. It is for the directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners to hold the local chief constable to account for the performance of the force on behalf of the public.

Home Office: Written Questions

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to Question 115815, tabled by the hon. Member for Halifax on 27 November 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: UIN 115815 was answered on the 14th February 2018.

Carillion

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Carillion was responsible for the delivery of any contracts for police forces across the country; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: Carillion are responsible for delivering contracts to policing, these contracts are direct between police forces and Carillion. The HO have liaised with all police forces and have been provided with assurance from policing that effective business continuity plans are in place.

Prisoners: Females

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her polices of the report by the Prison Reform Trust, Domestic abuse as a driver to women’s offending, published on 4 December 2017, that 57 per cent of women sent to prison are victims of domestic abuse.

Victoria Atkins: The Government's Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, backed by £100 million of dedicated funding, sets out the importance of meeting the needs of those with complex needs, which can include female offenders who are also survivors of VAWG, and who may experience additional barriers to accessing support.As part of the Government’s major programme of work to transform our approach to domestic abuse we will work with partners to improve our response to female offenders who have been victims of abuse. This will include consideration of the recommendations in the Prison Reform Trust report.

Key Forensic Services: Insolvency

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of the collapse of Key Forensic Services.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who will be responsible for the provision of forensic science services following the collapse of Key Forensic Services; and how much financial support will be given to establish that provider.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on police forces of the collapse of Key Forensic Services.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many pending cases Key Forensic Services was handling in each police force area prior to its collapse.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces have ongoing case work with Key Forensic Services.

Mr Nick Hurd: Key Forensic Services (KFS) appointed administrators on 30 January 2018. At the time there were around 2,000 pending cases, and around 30 police forces affected. The administrators have issued a statement that the company is continuing to trade.I welcome the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ swift action to minimise the impact on the criminal justice system and protect the evidence for live cases. With Home Office support they are working on a plan to ensure that the evidence KFS holds continues to be properly and professionally managed in accordance with the standards set by the Forensic Science Regulator. It is estimated that work to complete current cases will take around two months. Work is also underway to assess short-term, capacity within the forensic science market.

HM Treasury

Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the ratio of fee-charging and free-to-use cash dispensers in the 100 most deprived wards in England.

John Glen: There are currently around 70,000 ATMs in the UK, 55,000 of which are free to use. Government has not made an estimate of the ratio of fee charging and free to use cash dispensers in in the 100 most deprived wards in England. However, LINK, the scheme behind the UK’s ATM network, publishes data showing the number of free-to-use ATMs and pay-to-use ATMs available in each Parliamentary Constituency on its website https://www.link.co.uk/initiatives/financial-inclusion/.

Cryptocurrencies

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will incorporate consumers who hold digital currencies into the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

John Glen: As with all policies, the Government keeps its policy towards digital currencies under review. The Government recognises the significant benefits that digital currencies and the related technology could bring, as well as potential challenges. The Government is monitoring the situation, and believes any regulation should be proportionate and risk-based.

Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme

Mr Alister Jack: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the (a) Enterprise Investment Scheme and the (b) Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.

Mel Stride: HM Treasury recently conducted a thorough assessment of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) as part of the Patient Capital Review (PCR). The PCR consultation Financing Growth in Innovative Firms along with the government response, published at Autumn Budget 2017, can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/financing-growth-in-innovative-firms

Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme

Mr Alister Jack: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses have participated in the Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme since the inception of those programmes.

Mel Stride: HMRC publishes reports on the number of companies that have participated in the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). Since the inception of these schemes, 26,355 companies have participated in EIS and 6,665 companies in SEIS. Further information about the take-up of these schemes up to the end of 2015/16 (the most recent figures) can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/enterprise-investment-scheme-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-and-social-investment-tax-relief-statistics-october-2017

Department for Exiting the European Union

Immigration

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with the Governments of (a) Norway, (b) Switzerland, (c) Iceland and (d) Liechtenstein on (i) their citizens resident in the UK and (ii) UK citizens resident in those countries after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Steve Baker: The UK’s published policy paper, ‘Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU’, stated that we would discuss similar arrangements with Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The Prime Minister reiterated this to the Norwegian Prime Minister in October and in her letter to EU citizens on 11 December 2017.We have already started constructive official-level scoping talks with all four countries and both the UK and the EFTA states are keen to reach agreement as soon as possible. It is our intention that all EEA and Swiss nationals in the UK, and UK nationals living across the EEA and Switzerland can continue living life broadly as they do now.

Department for International Trade

USA: Visas

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department plans to raise the relaxation of visa restrictions for UK musicians performing in the USA in negotiations on a potential trade deal.

Graham Stuart: It’s too early to say what would be covered in a future trading arrangement with the USA. We want an agreement that will help both UK and US businesses to trade with each other effectively. We will consider market access barriers across all sectors and identify where we can collaborate to promote trade.

UK Trade With EU

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2018 to Question 125208 on UK trade with EU, which of the EU free trade agreements and other EU preferential arrangements listed have been prioritised by his Department.

Graham Stuart: We are committed to securing continuity in the effect of existing EU free trade agreements and other EU preferential arrangements before the provisions of these agreements cease to apply to the UK. We are discussing with our trading partners how continuity is best achieved, we have had positive reactions from partner countries to our approach so far. None of the over 70 nations with which we have held discussions have any interest in disrupting trade flows, or in erecting barriers to trade where none currently exist.

UK Trade With EU

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much his Department plans to spend on projects relating to the UK leaving the EU in the next five years; and if he will list the projects to which that funding has been assigned.

Graham Stuart: HM Treasury has already allocated departments nearly £700 million to prepare for Brexit: £412m for DIT, FCO and DExEU over the parliament at Autumn Statement 2016 and nearly £300m across a number of departments from the Reserve in 17/18 - we received £58.5m of this funding in total in 16-17 and 17-18.At Autumn Budget 2017 HM Treasury made another £3bn of additional funding available over 18/19 and 19/20 – £1.5bn in each year. We are currently working with HM Treasury to determine our allocation for 18/19 with the aim to agree this soon.Departmental allocations for 19/20 will be agreed later on in the year and decisions on funding in 20/21 and beyond will be decided at the next Spending Review. This is because requirements in these years will be heavily affected by what is agreed in our negotiations with the EU.

Revenue and Customs: Disclosure of Information

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2018 to Question 126040 on Revenue and Customs: Disclosure of Information, for what reason a request for information from HMRC must be defined in legislation.

Graham Stuart: Information held by HMRC is subject to strict statutory control under the Commissioners of Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA). This restricts sharing of information by HMRC to specified purposes. Any request for information from HMRC not already specified in the CRCA 2005 must therefore have a statutory gateway in order to allow HMRC to share that information.

Members' Interests

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2018 to Question 126037 on Members' interests, what the evidential basis is for his assessment that the hon. Member for Corby was impugned.

Graham Stuart: As highlighted in my answer to the hon. Member for Sefton Central on 5 February, UIN 126037, I refer to the oral contribution of the Member for Sefton Central of 30 January 2018, Official Report, column 233.

Trade Remedies Authority

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2015 to Question 126039 on Trade Remedies Authority, what his Department's definition is of a timely manner.

Graham Stuart: At the conclusion of an investigation where the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) recommends measures to my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade, it is important that there is no undue delay in the decision to apply measures to protect UK industry from unfair trade or unforeseen surges in imports. However in some cases, this decision may involve complex considerations, and it is important that a strict time pressure does not compromise such considerations, such as national security.

Trade Remedies Authority: Public Appointments

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant the Answer of 5 February 2018 to Question 126038 on Trade Remedies Authority: Public Appointments, if he will make it his policy that appointments to the Trade Remedies Authority are subject to pre-appointment hearings by the International Trade Select Committee.

Graham Stuart: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by my Rt Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy on 5 February 2018, UIN 126038.

Israel: Medicine

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to increase trade in medical research and development with Israel.

Graham Stuart: The UK and Israel have a strong and important trading relationship, and we are committed to strengthening it. We have a dedicated team in our Embassy in Tel Aviv which actively promotes UK-Israel trade. They have succeeded in increasing the export of medical devices to Israel.The UK-Israel Tech Hub, based at the Embassy, helps to create tech and innovation partnerships across several sectors, including healthcare. One of their projects, the UK-Israel Dangoor Healthcare Initiative, aims to create a pipeline of digital innovation for the NHS.There is also extensive bilateral collaborative medical research between the UK and Israel.

Israel: Agriculture

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to increase trade in the agricultural technology sector with Israel.

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to strengthen trade cooperation in the high-tech sector with Israel.

Graham Stuart: The UK and Israel have a strong and important trading relationship, and we are committed to strengthening that relationship.We have a dedicated team based in our Embassy in Tel Aviv which actively promotes trade cooperation between UK and Israeli companies.We have also established a UK-Israel Tech Hub, which helps to create partnerships between British companies and world class Israeli innovators across a wide range of tech sectors, including agriculture.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Healthy Living Ministerial Group

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how often the Inter-Ministerial Group on Healthy Living plans to meet; and whether his Department plans to publish the minutes of those meetings.

Tracey Crouch: Sporting Future: A Strategy for an Active Nation, published in December 2015, made the commitment to a more joined-up approach to delivery and funding for sport and physical activity, putting in place the structures needed to make this happen including a cross government ministerial group which will meet regularly to drive implementation. Sporting Future - Second Annual Report published last month confirmed that government is establishing an Inter-Ministerial Group on Healthy Living, to be co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Health and Social Care. The Group will be meeting for the first time in early 2018. Information relating to the proceedings of Inter-Ministerial Groups, including minutes of their proceedings, is not disclosed to encourage full and frank dialogue in such meetings.

Health

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of Sport England’s Wellness Hub initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch: The setting and environment in which sport and physical activity takes place has a big impact on the likelihood of people taking part, and continuing to take part, in the activity. As set out in government's Sporting Future strategy, government is committed to investing in facilities that are designed and built around customer need and that reflect people's preferences for how they want to engage with sport and physical activity. The strategy is clear that Sport England investment in major sports and physical activity facility projects should include a presumption in favour of co-locating sports and physical activity facilities with other types of community facilities to make it easier for people to get active. Government has received representations on the Wellness Hub proposal from Sport England and ukactive and is working with both organisations to understand the implications of the proposal and how best to take this forward.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department plans to spend on projects relating to the UK leaving the EU in the next five years; and if he will list the projects to which that funding has been assigned.

Tracey Crouch: HM Treasury has already allocated departments nearly £700 million to prepare for Brexit: £412m for DIT, FCO and DExEU over the parliament at Autumn Statement 2016 and nearly £300m across a number of departments from the Reserve in 17/18​. ​My Department received £9m of this funding in 17/18. At Autumn Budget 2017 HM Treasury made another £3bn of additional funding available over 18/19 and 19/20 – £1.5bn in each year. We are currently working with HM Treasury to determine our allocation for 18/19 with the aim to agree this soon. Departmental allocations for 19/20 will be agreed later on in the year and decisions on funding in 20/21 and beyond will be decided at the next Spending Review. This is because requirements in these years will be heavily affected by what is agreed in our negotiations with the EU.

Gaming Machines

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to (a) respond to the consultation on proposals for changes to gaming machines and social responsibility measures and (b) set out the Government’s position on reducing the stake on B2 machines.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government estimates the losses people accrue on B2 machines; and if he will make a statement.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take account of the findings of report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research on B2 machines in reaching a decision on reducing the stake for such machines.

Tracey Crouch: Category B2 gaming machines generated around £1.8bn in revenue to the betting industry in 2016/17. However, players can access other types of gaming machine content on B2 gaming machines in betting shops (primarily B3) so we know that of this £1.8bn, a proportion (around 30%) is attributable to other gaming machine content. This is because industry data is categorised under the highest category of game available on that particular terminal. For example, if a terminal offers category B2 and B3 games, operators attribute all revenue to the B2 machine category. We therefore estimate that in total players lost approximately £1.2bn on B2 gaming machines in 2016/17 (detail can be found in the consultation impact assessment at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655970/Impact_Assessment_-_Consultation_on_proposals_for_changes_to_Gaming_Machines_and_Social_Responsibility_Measures.pdf ). More information on patterns of play on B2 gaming machines can be found at the following link:http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Statistics/Cross-venue-machines-data.aspx The consultation on proposals for changes to gaming machines and social responsibility measures closed on 23 January. We will consider the CEBR report and other relevant information submitted as part of the consultation before arriving at final decisions and the Government will publish its response in due course.

National Lottery: Tickets

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the number of National Lottery tickets sold in the last 12 months.

Tracey Crouch: The Department receives a weekly breakdown of sales for all National Lottery games from the Gambling Commission. The data provided are given as total value of sales, rather than numbers of tickets sold. This data is not shared publicly for reasons of commercial confidentiality. However, data on sales are published three months in arrears by Camelot, these can be found at:http://www.camelotgroup.co.uk/about-us/reporting

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which expert bodies and experts in historic artillery were consulted by his Department during the preparation of the Deed of Gift for HMS Victory 1744 which gifted the wreck to the Maritime Heritage Foundation in order to obtain an appropriate commercial value for the battery of bronze cannon which were carried aboard that vessel and were thus Crown property and Crown assets; and what financial value those experts ascribed to those cannon.

Michael Ellis: No expert bodies or experts in historic artillery were consulted by my department on the commercial value of the bronze cannon during the preparation of the Deed of Gift for HMS Victory 1744.

HMS Victory

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has been told that the Maritime Heritage Foundation has a commercial salvage contract with American treasure hunting company Odyssey Marine Exploration which would allow Odyssey and the Maritime Heritage Foundation to sell artefacts from the wreck of HMS Victory 1744, including the personal property of the crew; and whether such sales under such a contract are contrary to Government policy for historic shipwrecks under the Annex to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

Michael Ellis: DCMS is aware that a contract exists between the Marine Heritage Foundation (MHF) and Odyssey Marine Exploration and that MHF ​has also confirmed that there is no contractual arrangement with OME concerning any artefacts which may be recovered from the wreck of HMS Victory, which were not passed to MHF pursuant to a Deed of Gift dated 12 January 2012 between the Ministry of Defence and MHF. If any such artefacts are found, they will be notified to the Receiver of Wrecks to be dealt with according to law. MHF have also confirmed that the contract with OME does not require at any time in the future the de-accession or sale by MHF of artefacts from the wreck which, with their associated archive, will remain together as a single assemblage wherever possible. The UK Government has adopted the Key Management Principles in the Annex to the UNESCO Convention as best practice in the management of underwater archaeological and historic sites and this includes provisions regarding the incompatibility of commercial exploitation of cultural heritage for trade or speculation.